No more
by hfan02
Summary: It's the summer before the final year at Hogwarts for Hermione. Voldemort is defeated and all his followers are dead or left to die in Azkaban. But what happens when one of them shows up in Hermione's backyard?
1. Chapter 1

_This was a short first chapter. I hope you like it._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

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It was a chilly August night in muggle London. Hermione was reading one of her favorites books when her mother called for her from downstairs.

"Hermione, dear, can you please come and give me a hand?" the woman shouted.

"In a minute." Hermione yelled back. She wanted to finish the chapter first so it took her about ten minutes before she could get up and go see her mother.

"I'm here," she told her mother as soon as she got to the kitchen.

"Good." her mother smiled. "Dinner is almost ready. Can you please go take out the garbage and then help me set the table?"

"Sure." Hermione assured her mother but in fact, she was a bit annoyed that she had to put down the book so she could take out the garbage. The girl took the two bags that her mother prepared by the kitchen counter and she got out the front door.

As soon as she stepped outside, a cold shiver ran through her spine. It was indeed late august and it was a bit cold, especially in the evenings, but now it was different. Everything was silent; nothing could be heard except for the rustling of the plastic bags in Hermione's hands. She put them down and listened. Nothing. The girl waited for about five more minutes before she tried to put the uneasy feeling aside and returned to her given task.

When she got to the backyard, she quickly threw the bags into the large container and she turned on her heels to enter the house, but something made her stop in her tracks. She thought she saw a shadow with the corner of her eye. Slowly, she turned around, regretting the fact that she didn't have her wand with her. She knew that just holding it would bring her the illusion of safety.

The girl took one more step towards the large bin. There was nothing else in the small yard except the large garbage can so if something or somebody was looking for a place to hide, that would be the perfect place.

Another small step. Hermione tried to go through the list of creatures that could be hiding behind the container, but the list grew terribly fast and too dangerous so she forced herself to stop by going through a list of potions ingredients instead. In her mind, a calming potion was brewing. She was just about to take another step when her mother startled her.

"Hermione, dear, dinner is ready!" she shouted from the kitchen.

The girl wanted to yell back, but she found out she couldn't. She didn't want to scare the creature that was hiding in the dark. Instead, she stepped forward, but she still couldn't see or hear anything. A large ball of fur jumped in Hermione's arms just as she was preparing to take the last step.

"Crookshanks!" she exhaled relieved. "Where have you been? I thought I lost you." She whispered while the cat purred in her arms.

"Come, let's get you inside, you little monster." She told him and she walked away from the garbage can. When they entered the house, rain was starting to fall.

* * *

Later that night, Hermione was trying to get some sleep, but something bothered her. Something felt wrong, but she couldn't say what exactly. She turned on the other side so she could see out the window. The moon was covered by dark clouds of rain, rain that just continued falling, washing everything away. She remembered how she felt when she got outside, the cold uneasy feeling that haunted her ever since. Hermione was sure that she felt that way before, but she couldn't remember where or when.

The girl watched how the little droplets of rain crashed and then left wet trails against her window. The sound of falling rain was always soothing for her, but not now. Hermione got out of bed frustrated and she joined Crookshanks at the window. She was expecting to see him sleep as usual, but he was alert, watching outside the window, maybe seeing something that she couldn't. Hermione got closer and closer to the window so she could distinguish anything outside in the backyard, but the rain made it extremely difficult to see. Instead, the window started to get steamy where her warm breath touched the cold window. Something about this sight made her think of a frozen window. A train window. She unconsciously took a step back.

"Oh, Crookshanks, how could I forget?" she spoke aloud and suddenly the cat started to meow. At first, she thought it was just a response to her voice, but he then began to scratch the wooden window frame.

"Crookshanks? What is it?" Hermione approached him quickly. She looked out the window. Her first reaction was to look up for any sign of dementors in the sky, but she couldn't see any. She knew that if they were closer to her, the uneasy feeling would only grow stronger, and she felt the same. No, they were out there for sure, but they couldn't be so close.

The cat continued to scratch which brought her attention to the backyard, but nothing could be seen in the yard. It was too dark and the rain made it even more difficult to see through the window. A minute later, Crookshanks stopped scratching and jumped from the window only to scratch again at the door. Hermione knew what she had to do. She glanced one more time at the dark yard and she walked away.

Hermione took her wand quickly from her bedside and then she slowly opened the door. She didn't want to awaken her parents. As soon as she opened it, the cat started running down the stairs and out the door through the special cat place. She followed him outside the front door and quickly regretting her choice of clothes. She was only wearing her pajamas and a pair of slippers that got wet uncomfortably quickly.

When she reached the backyard, Crookshanks was nowhere to be seen. "Crookshanks!" she whispered, but nothing could be heard in return, only the rain that fell quicker than before. "Crookshanks, where are you?" Hermione whispered again and still, no response.

Slowly, Hermione turned to the only place that something or someone could hide behind in the yard. The old garbage can. She hoped that Crooks would jump again in her arms so she could return to her warm room, but she suspected that this time it was going to be different. She tightened her grip on the wand and she cast a small lumos. It was just enough to see two steps ahead, but that was enough for her.

Hermione walked cautiously towards the bin with the wand held low. She was about three steps away when she thought she saw someone's leg. It looked like someone was sprawled there on the grass, back against the old garbage can. She slowly approached the dark stretched figure. That someone was wearing large manly boots so she presumed it was a man that was lying in her backyard. The thought alone wasn't that frightening for her, but that, along with the presence of dementors was more than concerning and she refused to think it was just a coincidence.

She held her breath while she took the final step to go behind the can. Up until then, she could only see a man from the waist down since his back was against the bin. She could now see that underneath the large black coat he was still wearing the prison clothes. She couldn't even think of a reason why an Azkaban prisoner would end up so far away in the muggle world, especially in her backyard.

The brave Gryffindor took the final step and she instantly froze in her place when she saw the face of the unconscious intruder.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

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The next morning, Hermione woke up with a headache. She glanced at the watch in the living room and it was six o'clock. Her parents would get up in any minute to go to work, so she got up from the couch and went to her room, slowly.

She knew that he was sleeping in her bed, but to see him there still shocked her. Hermione didn't know what to do. She was hosting a fugitive. He may have been her teacher, but he was still a dangerous man. She tried to find a reason behind his apparition there, at her house, but it didn't have sense.

First of all, it was extremely difficult to escape Azkaban. Nothing could pass the Dementors, although there have been some cases over the years when a prisoner escaped, but those cases were rare. In order to escape such a place you have to have friends. Extremely powerful friends. Friends that the man in front of her didn't have. Everyone he knew was dead or locked away in the same tower. All the other Death Eaters. Even the rich Lucius Malfoy was sent away who knows where. Except from him, from what she knew, Dumbledore was his only friend. However, he was also dead, killed by none other than himself.

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. Not knowing things was infuriating. She wanted to know the reason behind his apparition in her backyard. Did someone bring him there? Did he run? Did he fly? No, she didn't find any broom. Maybe he used Apparate. That would be one reasonable explanation. But why her yard?

"I can hear you thinking from across the room." a voice startled her from her thoughts, but she was too stunned to say anything. Instead, she observed him.

He was looking at her with those black, tired eyes. He was obviously not asleep anymore. He was sitting in her bed with his back against the wooden board. Her blanket was covering him from waist down, leaving his upper body exposed. His clothes were so dirty that she thought her covers were certainly beyond repair.

"You're doing it again." He interrupted her again. This time, Hermione finally opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Snape sighed. "I don't know how I got here. I don't even remember getting away from Azkaban."

"What do you mean you don't remember?" Hermione finally managed to ask.

"I mean that the last thing I remember before waking up in your backyard was going to sleep in my cell. In Azkaban."

Hermione thought about it for a second. "You said you woke up in my backyard – "She started, but he interrupted her.

"I woke up, yes, but soon I fell unconscious again for some reason and then I woke up again here. So I suspect that was really your backyard and you didn't drag me here from your neighbor's" he explained.

"Yes, that was my backyard, but I didn't drag you here, I – "

"It was a matter of speech, Miss Granger." He interrupted her once more.

Hermione stayed silent for a moment. She was about to ask him something when she heard her parents' door open. She shot quickly a glance at Snape. One of them usually checks to see if she's really sleeping because she sometimes stayed up all night to read or study. Snape must have guessed what was happening for he let himself fall on the floor, on the other side of the bed, away from the door.

She heard steps approaching her room so she jumped quickly in her already warm bed, covering herself up to the neck. She hoped they would not enter the room or he would be discovered. She was not in the mood to explain why her escaped from prison teacher was in her bedroom.

The steps stopped just outside her door. By what she could tell, it was her father. Hermione sighed relieved. He usually stayed outside. And so it was, he opened the door just a bit as to see her in her bed and then he closed it again. Hermione waited for a few more seconds before she finally opened her eyes. When she did, she found him looking at her.

"I can't stay here." He told her in his low voice, barely a whisper.

"I don't think you should leave yet. We don't know what's going on. I will go talk to Harry, maybe he knows something." She told him.

"I don't think you should talk to anyone. Especially Mr. Potter, an Auror. Don't get me wrong, Miss Granger, I'm not very happy that someone did this to me, but I'm not so eager to go back."

"I understand, but I still have to do something." She pleaded.

"No, you don't have to do anything. I will leave and you'll never have to see me again."

Hermione thought about that for a second. Never to see Snape again? She was fine with the idea while he was locked away in Azkaban, when she knew where to find him. But running away, alone, not knowing whether he's dead or alive, for some reason, the thought scared Hermione.

"Where do you want to go?" Hermione asked him in a whisper.

"I'm not sure, but even if I were, I wouldn't tell you." He told her and Hermione was shocked by his honesty. She knew that that was his main trait, but it still shocked her a bit.

"Fine, don't tell me, but you're still not leaving yet. Not until we have a better idea of what's going on."

"And what would you want me to do? Stay here, in your room?" he asked mockingly.

"Yes, when my parents are home. When they're out, you can come out as well." She explained.

Snape let out a snort. "Why would you want to keep a wanted fugitive in your house? Do you have any idea how dangerous is that for you? For your entire family?"

"I know it's dangerous. If someone sees you. But you and I will make sure that no one will."

At this point, Hermione heard the front door open and close, followed by the sound of the car getting out of the garage. Her parents were out. She got up from the bed, and so did Snape from the floor, all the way stretching his back.

"Sorry you had to do that." Hermione apologized.

"Oh, I think this is only the beginning."

"Does that mean you're staying?" Hermione asked.

"Do I have a choice?" Snape asked, as he got closer to her.

Hermione recognized his intimidating method so she stayed still, her eyes locked with his. As soon as he entered her space, she had to take a step back.

"You have to take a shower. And we have to get rid of those horrid clothes. Come." She told him and she walked him to the bathroom door. "Wait here, I'll go get some new clothes for you." She told him and she walked away, not giving him a chance to reply.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry it took me so long to update. I hope you're still following the story._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

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Hermione listened carefully the running shower as she stared blankly at the wall in front of her. She tried to think of a reasonable explanation for Snape's apparition in her backyard, but she could not find any. She finally decided to write to Harry despite Snape's disapproval. She knew she could trust Harry, no matter what.

The Gryffindor got up from the bed and crossed the room to the desk. She was just beginning to write when she heard the door open and it was then that she realized that the water was not running anymore.

"What are you doing?" the dark man asked her as she turned to face him.

He was wearing a black pair of her father's old sweat pants and a dark blue t-shirt with a slight v-neck. The sight shocked Hermione. She was certainly not used to seeing him in something other than the dark robes he wore at Hogwarts. Those and the Azkaban uniform of course. Snape must have noticed that she was staring at him because he crossed his arms over his chest and took a step forward.

Hermione quickly came to her senses. "I'm writing to Harry." She told him as she returned to her letter.

"You will do no such thing." Snape coldly replied as he approached her.

Hermione turned to face him once more. "With all due respect, sir, I think it's our only choice. We have no way of knowing what is going on otherwise. Harry is my friend and I trust him completely, he won't do anything reckless."

Snape took another intimidating step towards the witch when a knock on the window distracted them both. Hermione quickly ran and opened the window. A large black owl was standing outside and it had a parchment tied to its leg. Hermione untied the letter from the owl and it flew away.

"Who sent you that?" Snape asked as he approached her.

"I don't know, I haven't seen that owl before." Hermione told him as she opened the parchment. In a matter of seconds, everything was clear to her.

"Is there anything I should know?" Snape questioned her when she started to roll back the parchment.

"It's from Harry. I think they're responsible for your 'escape'." She explained.

"'They'?" Severus asked. "Who are they?"

"The Order." She specified.

"What did he say? What happened? Why am I here, Miss Granger?" Snape asked in his low voice as he took a step closer to her.

"I don't know why you're here, but here's what he said:

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _I know it has been a while since we last spoke, but things have been somewhat crazy lately. As you well know, the training takes most of my time and when I do get some free time, I try to spend it with Ginny. We both miss you very much and we hope to see you soon. We expect to see you more often when you will go back to Hogwarts._

 _Since you last visited, strange things have happened in the wizarding world. Yesterday for example, a great explosion occurred at the west wing of Azkaban, killing every witch and wizard in its way. Some of the bodies were not yet recovered, including the one of professor Snape. The dementors are furious and since then, the sky is filled with them, in case any prisoner managed to escape in the chaos._

 _I will try to write more often, but until then, please be safe and enjoy the remaining of your vacation. Maybe you should try spending some time away, you still have some time before your return to Hogwarts._

 _Anyway, we hope to see you soon._

 _P.S: I hope you enjoyed the present. Everyone here at the Order helped getting it._

 _With love,_

 _Harry_ "

"There is no present so he must be talking about you." Hermione told him. "He must be afraid of someone intercepting the owl."

"So it seems." Snape replied as he turned to take a seat on the bed.

They spent the next few minutes in silence. Hermione reread the letter repeatedly until she finally broke the silence. "Professor?"

In response, Snape turned his head to look at her.

"Sir, in the letter, Harry suggests I should spend some time away. Do you think he really suggested we should leave?"

Snape snorted. "We? Miss Granger, there is no 'we' here. The only one that should be leaving is I. You have no reason to go away. I'm the one who 'escaped' Azkaban after all."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I cannot leave you alone, especially now when I know that Harry and the Order are responsible for your escape. They sent you here for a reason, because they knew I wouldn't let you go."

"And why is that, Miss Granger?" he asked as he got up from the bed and approached her once more. This time was more determined and more intimidating, even without his dark robes and cloak billowing behind him. "Why would you not let me go?"

Hermione watched slowly as he crossed the room and stopped just in front of her. She needed some space so she took a step behind just to be abruptly stopped by the desk. "Because you're important for the Order. And I doubt that they would like to see you knocked over by a car or Merlin knows what after the trouble of getting you out, because I'm sure it wasn't a piece of cake getting you out of Azkaban."

Snape snorted once more. "What do you think I am? A child? Do you want to take my hand while I cross the street? Do you really think that I am incapable of surviving in the Muggle world?"

"I did not say that, professor, but I'm sure things have changed since you last visited the Muggle world."

"Perhaps, but that does not mean that I could not handle it. I survived Nagini's attack, for Merlin's sake; do you really think I am so easy to kill?"

"Well, professor, you survived Nagini's attack because we were there and we asked for help. You wouldn't have lasted alone." Hermione assured him.

Snape frowned. The witch's stubbornness was infuriating. "Fine, then I will just have to go back in the Wizarding world."

"With all the dementors lurking around? Are you really that eager to go back to Azkaban?"

Snape was about to defend himself when the Hermione started again. "Look, sir, I know that you don't want to spend any more time with me and you just want to be alone, but you can't go back to the Wizarding world just yet and you know that. We will go away for a couple of weeks until everything settles and then we will see what's to be done."

Severus sighed silently. He knew that he had lost the battle.

That evening, at dinner, Hermione decided to tell her parents she was leaving.

"Guys, I need to tell you something." She started as they finished eating and they both turned to look at her with a worried look on their faces.

"What's wrong, dear?" her mother asked.

"Nothing, there is nothing wrong." She assured them and smiled. She did not want them to be suspicious. "I was just thinking that I haven't had some proper time alone in a while. I mean don't get me wrong, you know I love spending time with you, but after all that happened lately, I just feel…"

"Hermione, dear," her father interrupted her, "you have turned into an extraordinary young lady and we understand if you need time alone to better discover yourself. You must not worry about us."

Hermione exhaled relieved. "So you won't be mad if I won't be spending the next couple of weeks with you?"

"Of course not, my dear", her mother assured her. "But where are you going? Are you going back to your friends?"

"No, not yet, I was thinking of travelling around the country."

* * *

"What did they say?" Snape asked Hermione in a whisper when she returned to her room.

"They will let me use mom's car. We are leaving tomorrow after they leave for work so we need to pack."

Snape looked at her with a scowl. She forgot that the only clothes he had were the ones he was wearing. The Azkaban uniform was ashes already but it was not as if he could wear that again.

"Sorry, we will stop somewhere and I'll get you some things." She assured him.

"Or you could use your wand to create new things…"

"I want to use as little magic as possible. We will do this the muggle way. Oh, what happened to your wand anyway?"

Snape sighed at her response. 'The muggle way', he always hated the muggle ways. They were so… primitive. "Destroyed, I expect."

"That's sad," Hermione whispered.

"I suppose" Severus admitted and they remained silent.


End file.
